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Interview with Mr. Marjanovic

Mr. Marjanovic teaches AP Calculus and Geometry. His room number is B213.

1.What made you want to teach at Pearl? I heard Pearl is a great school district with great students and I wanted to be a part of the greatness.

2.What made you want to teach math?I tutored Math in college and I always enjoyed watching students gain math confidence and those awesome “Aha!” moments.

3.Where did you go to college and what did you study there?California State University in San Marcos. I have a B.S. in Math and a minor in Chemistry

4.How long have you been teaching?I started teaching in 2005 and have been teaching off and on since then.

5.Who is your life inspired you to be a teacher?My 6th grade teacher, Mr. Rodgers, noticed that I was very good at math and told me to work on my own as fast as I wanted. I finished the book a month early and realized that I was pretty good at math and teaching myself.

6.Where are you from originally and where did you go to school? I was born in Cleveland, OH (Go Browns!) but I lived most of my life in San Diego, CA ( Go Chargers!)

7.What do you like to do outside of work and on the weekends?I like to spend time with my wife and children. We jump on our trampoline, play Legos and watch Pokemon.

8.Where is the most fascinating place you have been to and why?My family lived in Port-au Prince, Haiti in 2014 and we loved how friendly everyone was in spite of being extremely poor. It really changed my perspective on how I view wealth and material possessions.

10.What is the 3 most interesting facts about you?I have a twin sister, I have never broken a bone and I once went to a BBQ hosted by the world famous actor, Bill Murray.

Interview with Mr. Romines

Mr Romines teaches US history and World History. His room number is C123.

1. What made you want to teach at Pearl? I graduated from Pearl in 2013, and I am a firm believer that Pearl plays a part in producing the best young people in our state. I wanted to be a part of that!

2. What made you want to teach history? History has always been a passion of mine, but i met my adviser, Dr. Otis Pickett during my sophomore year of college, and having his class kind of pushed me over the edge and convinced me to change from Music (my original major) to History.

3. Where did you go to college and what did you study there? I attended Mississippi College. It is a small Baptist college in Clinton, MS. We have about 5,000 students. I spent my first 3 years there studying to be a Choir Teacher (Music Education), but after three years, I felt pulled towards studying History. So, that’s what I got a degree in. Social Studies Education.

4.How long have you been teaching?This is my second year teaching. I spent last year teaching Foundations of Algebra at Sumner Hill Middle School in Clinton.

5. Who in your life inspired you to be a teacher?Mrs. Angie Rawls was a huge part of my life all through High School, and I wanted to be like her. Then, in College, I aspired to reach the level of Excellence of two of my choir directors, Dr. Jamie Meaders and Dr. Mark Nabholz. However, the biggest impact was made by my adviser and mentor, Dr. Otis Pickett. He fostered my interest in Mississippi History and the Blues greatly, and encouraged me to share that love for History with students.

6.Where are you from originally and where did you go to school? I’m from Pearl and went to school here from Kindergarten all the way through High School.

7. What do you like to do outside of work and on the weekends? I love to watch football, and I am a huge Mississippi State fan. My favorite hobby is golf, though, and I play as often as I can.

8. Where is the most fascinating place you have been to and why? My wife and I went on our honeymoon to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, and that was just a really beautiful and fun place to stay. As far as fascinating goes, I can really have a good time at some of Mississippi’s most famous historical places. I love going to the Windsor Ruins. Going to Rodney, MS was also a really cool historical trip to take.

9. What is your current favorite TV show, movie, and song? Show: The Office. Movie: Remember the Titans. Song: Old Friends, by Ben Rector.

10. What is the 3 most interesting facts about you? I was once #2 in the world on QuizUP for The Office. 2. I have a 6 Month old Chocolate Lab name Zeus. 3. My mom is a teacher and my dad is an accountant, but I am a teacher and my wife is an accountant.

Interview with Mr. Hatch

Mr. Hatch teach Advanced Placement World History, World History. and US History. His room number is C107.

1. What made you want to teach at Pearl? Most teachers look for a position that is close to home, is remunerative, and promises a pleasant teaching experience. PHS certainly fits those criteria.

2. What made you want to teach history? I was an academic historian, but i realized you can just can’t feed a growing family on the paltry salary of a gypsy associate professor. I start teaching secondary school in the late 1990s.

3. Where did you go to college and what did you study there? I matriculated at MacMurray college in Jacksonville, IL; I earned my B.A. in history and an M.A. in History from Western Illinois University in Macomb, IL; I did my doctoral studies and taught at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL; later, I earned a second M.A., a Master of Arts in teaching from Rockford college( now Rockford University) in Rockford, IL.

4. How long have you been teaching? If you count just the secondary teaching after I taught college, I have taught in a high school classroom since 1999.

5. Who in your life inspired you to be a teacher? I actually soft of fell into teaching, as it wasn’t my original intention to enter education. I can say i have had several great teachers in life, including Mrs. DeCounter (K), Mrs. Margaret Hamilton (4th), and Mr. Kevin Soule (HS).

6. Where are you from originally and where did you go to school? I was born in McDonough County, IL, and my parents owned a farm outside of Good Hope, IL. We raised sheep and hogs. I attended Good Hope Grade School and Sciota-Northwestern High School in Sciota, IL.

7. What do you like to do outside of work and on the weekends? I do great deal of work around the house and in the yard! Not much recreation, I’m afraid. I am also a chief cook at my house, so planning and preparing meals takes up time. I like to read, and once had a library of several thousand books. I have now donated most of them to charity.

8. Where is the most fascinating place you have been to and why? I frankly do not enjoy travel, but my wife does and so I tag along. I’d say the most unusual place I ‘visited’ was a war zone (the Honduran/ Nicaraguan border in the 1980s), courtesy of Uncle Sam.

9. What is your current favorite Tv show, movie, and song? Tv is a distraction and a waste of time. Having said that, my wife watches reruns of “NCIS” and ” Law & Order” and I passively absorb that. I don’t care for going out to the movies, but i am fond of the films “1776,” “Blade Runner (Final Cut),” and any “Star Trek” movie that happens to be on. As for songs: how dare you! Should I pick which of the ten trillion cells of my body is my favorite? Music is life. I can narrow it down a few genres I love: classic hard rock, classic metal, chap-hop, and Americana. I don’t care for any sort of rap or country, which essentially means I’ll lose my Mississippi privileges soon enough (that’s a joke–I think).

10. What is the 3 most interesting facts about you? It’s rather presumptuous of you to assume that there’s anything interesting about me, isn’t it? Honestly, how can someone answer that question without self-promotion or manipulation of one’s image? Sounds like a PR job. I’d say it would be more fair to ask someone who’s known me for a couple of decades that question–at least they know where the bodies are buried (that’s also a joke –you hope). OK: I’m a military veteran (see the above reference to Uncle Sam), a father and grandfather, and an incorrigible punster.